Contents

Personal life

Monteith was born in Calgary, Alberta to Ann McGregor and Joe Monteith. He has an older brother named Shaun. He grew up in Victoria, British Columbia.[1] His parents divorced when he was 7, and by 13, Monteith—once a promising student who at age 5 could read at a fourth-grade level—was skipping school to get drunk and smoke pot.

Monteith estimates that by the age of 16, when he quit for good, he had attended 12 different schools, including alternative programs for troubled teens.[1] At that point, Monteith turned to drugs.[1] He got his act together and began having odd jobs, which included being a roofer, Wal-Mart greeter, school bus driver, and taxi cab driver.

He reunited with his father for the first time in 17 years in late 2009.[1]

Monteith received a high school diploma from an alternative school he attended in Victoria, British Columbia in the spring 2011.[1]

Monteith’s mother and a group of friends staged an intervention when he was 19 after he “used anything and everything.” The rehab treatment was unsuccessful and he went back to his old habits.[1] After stealing a significant amount of money from a family member, and being caught, he was given an ultimatum: Get clean, or the family member would report him to the police and press charges. Choosing the get clean option, Monteith moved in with a family friend in the small Canadian city of Nanaimo, where he quit using drugs, got a job as a roofer and began the process of rebuilding his life.[1]

Monteith had admitted himself into a treatment facility for substance addiction on March 31, 2013.[2] The treatment was reported to be completed on April 26, 2013.[3]

Monteith was found dead in a room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, Canada on July 13, 2013.[4] His autopsy was held on July 15, and it was confirmed that his death was caused by toxic combination of heroin and alcohol.[5]

Monteith had been in a relationship with ‘’Glee’’ co-star, Lea Michele, until his unexpected death in July 2013.[6] He and Michele briefly dated at the beginning of Glee, but "no one really caught on."[7] They officially became a couple by late 2011.[7]

Monteith was privately cremated on July 16, 2013, in attendance was Michele, his mother, and his brother.[8] On October 3, 2013, the coroner’s report was released to reveal that his death was accidental. He also had codeine and morphine in system, and drug paraphernalia was found at the scene, along with two empty champagne bottles.[9]

Following his death, Michele added a new song to her album titled "If You Say So," which had been his last words to her. The song is about Michele's reaction to the news of his death, and was co-written by singer Sia Furler.[7]

Michele confirmed in December 2013 that she and Monteith had secret, matching tattoos.

Career

Monteith had a stint as the drummer in the band, Porchlife, in 2001.[10]Porchlife was based out of Victoria, Canada and he mentioned it once in an interview with GQ.[11] The band recorded six songs and only one was released for public - until December 2013.[11][12] A person managed to "get in contact with someone who had all of the songs recorded by the band," and that person released the songs on their tumblr page in order to share with the fandom.[11]

He played minor roles in Final Destination 3, Whisper and Deck the Halls, had a recurring role in Kyle XY and also appeared in Smallville, Supernatural, and Flash Gordon. In 2007, he starred in the MTV series Kaya. In 2009, Monteith was cast in the Fox series Glee, playing Finn Hudson, the male lead of the glee club and the quarterback of William McKinley High School. For his audition tape, he drummed on Tupperware using unsharpened pencils. The first time he sang in front of an audience was at his in-person audition, at which he sang "Honesty" by Billy Joel. He and Lea Michele, his Glee co-star, were included in Entertainment Weekly's 2009 "Summer Must List," being named "Summer's Must Songbirds" for their portrayals of Finn and Rachel on Glee, respectively.

Quotes

“

I wonder if, in China, they have Canada Town. Am I the first person who has thought that before?

”

—Cory Monteith

“

Evolved? As a dancer? Me? I don’t fall down as much, unless it’s part of the scripted dance. I don’t step on other people’s toes anymore. I think if I started the show a one out of ten dancer, now I am a two and a half.

”

—Cory Monteith

“

Instant hard on.

”

—Cory Monteith

“

I figure the only reason people get up this early is to prove a point or fly to New York.

”

—Cory Monteith, on waking up at 5AM

“

There is a way out. You never know what’s in store for you.

”

—Cory Monteith

“

Best advice my mom gave me? Believe in yourself. Work hard. Never stop hustlin'.

He often joked with Lea Michele about marrying each other, such as when they said that they were taking pictures for their "save the date" wedding. At one time, they let it slip that Glee was like their little baby.

The Westboro Baptist Church - a religious hate group- wanted to protest against his funeral, however, fortunately, Cory's funeral was in Canada, and Canada set up an entry ban to keep the WBC out, so therefore, they didn't show up.